Mass GOP chairwoman begins listening tour’ in Marblehead

Thursday

Sep 5, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 5, 2013 at 5:20 AM

Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Kristen Hughes’ stop was the first in her effort to inform women voters, particularly unenrolled ones, about the 2014 election and what the Grand Old Party can offer them. The tour, which Hughes called a “listening tour,” is meant to act as a conduit to collect input on how the state party could improve its outreach to women, a demographic that played a key role in many of the party’s electoral defeats in the state in 2012.

William J. Dowd / wdowd@wickedlocal.com

In Marblehead last week, Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Kristen Hughes kicked off a statewide tour to speak directly with women voters, a demographic that played a key role in many of the party’s electoral defeats in the state in 2012.

Hughes’ stop was the first in her effort to inform women voters, particularly unenrolled ones, about the 2014 election and what the Grand Old Party can offer them. The tour, which Hughes called a “listening tour,” is meant to act as a conduit to collect input on how the state party could improve its outreach to women.

“Hughes has put a high priority on ensuring women know that they can feel comfortable in the party in this state,” said Marblehead Republican Town Committee Chairwoman Amy Carnevale, who hosted of Hughes’ discussion at her home on Thursday, Aug. 28, which was not open to the press.

Carnevale said they discussed conservative women’s status and “the barriers some women felt in identifying themselves as Republicans” in a liberal state.

“Some of the women I met with in Marblehead had never met,” said Hughes, adding that some described their political ideology as “center-right.” “My job is to bridge the party’s message on what we, the Republican party, can offer them.”

Hughes engaged the group in an extended discussion on how to hone the message of Republican candidates, who have had trouble ascending to public office on federal and state levels lately.

“While Kristen had ideas of her own on improving outreach and communication, it was clear that she was seeking input from the group,” said Carnevale.

Hughes said her outreach efforts are prompted in Democrats’ “built perception” that conservatives pose a threat to women’s reproductive health rights. She hopes to shift the focus to two issues she believes are even more important for women: the economy and job creation.

“All the women, including those last night, I’ve talked with say job creation and the economy are the top priorities they’d like to see improvement on,” said Hughes. “[Democrats] can’t talk about any of their economic policies because they’ve done nothing to ensure middle-class families are getting what they need.”

During the discussion, Carnevale said Hughes expressed she was upset with the GOP’s performance in last year’s Senate race between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown, on whose campaign Hughes served as deputy finance director.

Warren, who garnered 59 percent of the women’s vote to Brown’s 41 percent, honed in on Brown’s record on women’s issues, including his voting against a bill that would mandate employer-provided health insurance cover female employees’ access to birth control.

Warren had also focused on Brown’s refusal to offer a vote in favor of now Associate Justice Elena Kagan’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Kirsten shared her frustration that the two biggest issues for both men and women, jobs and the economy, were ‘dodged’ by Senator Warren in the campaign,” said Carnevale. “Many of the women felt very strongly that the media was largely to blame for focusing on the issues as Senator Warren defined them.”

Warren’s November win was a lesson to learn from for next year’s midterm elections, Hughes said.

“We haven’t performed well,” says Hughes. “In the last elections, we fell down to the ground.”

Hughes’ climb to chairwoman of the state Republican Party in January came at a time when there is no Republican representation in any of the state’s elected high offices nor in the state’s Congressional delegation in Washington. Furthermore, only 33 Republicans currently serve in the 200-seat state Legislature.

“One-party rule hasn’t improved Massachusetts,” Hughes said.

Hughes used the newest Massachusetts tax increases - $1 on cigarettes, an added 6.25 percent software services tax and 3 cents on gas - to illustrate her point, indicating that the tax increases were byproducts of a one-party rule.

Moreover, Hughes is puzzled as to why Democrats would place a tax on technology services, which she called an “economic engine” for the state’s economy. The tax, she argued, creates a incentive for companies to move elsewhere.

Carnevale chimed in, too, saying the tax increases were poor choices on Democrats’ part, especially during a time when the economy is in a state of recovery and unemployment remains high.

“The impact the tax increase will have on our economic recovery [has created an] overall tax burden on Massachusetts residents,” said Carnevale.

Hughes sees her role as one that will helping shake up the status quo in a state dominated by Democrats. She thinks reaching out to “center-right,” unenrolled women voters early is one step in the right direction.

And she said the North Shore is a great place to start, pointing out the current incumbent of the 6th District.

“John Tierney is in a lot of trouble and vulnerable,” said Hughes.

She mentioned not only the House Ethics Committee’s intention to investigate possible ethics violations by Tierney but also his voting record.

“He is a lockstep vote for the Democratic Party,” said Hughes, adding that he has yet to “sponsor and pass a bill” over his 17-year tenure in office. “I don’t think my boss would keep me if I worked for them as long as Tierney has been in office and had nothing to show for it. They would fire me.”

Before he faces a Republican challenge, Tierney will have to survive a Democratic primary in which he has two challengers, Marblehead native and Marine Corps veteran Seth Moulton and Middleton attorney Marisa Defranco.